Sandman (26 page)

Meagan went about opening the windows and letting the fresh air in.

“Well, I guess I should be getting back to the station. Can’t wait to get a look at this scumbag myself.”

“Thank you so much for everything, Coop.” She kissed him on the cheek.

He placed his hand on his cheek and smiled shyly. “It was nothing.” He ducked out the back door, closing it behind him.

Meagan took her overnight bag into her bedroom. Her eyes captured the total chaos. She dropped her bag on the bed, then returned to the kitchen where she grabbed a box of trash bags. She started filling them with all her ruined lingerie. After she’d tossed the last bag in the garbage outside, she set about the task of cleaning the mess the crime scene people had left behind. Black dust coated every hard surface.

The fingerprint powder had even ruined some of her belongings, but she supposed it was a small price to pay. At least she was alive. By the time she had cleaned the entire apartment, it was getting dark and she had to put the lights on to survey her work. Grimy from head to foot, Meagan jumped into the shower.

While the hot water ran the length of her body, it eased the stress that had built up since she’d arrived home. Her thoughts went back to Thomas. She wondered if she’d ever see him again. And what about Drew? She would have to have a talk with him. She couldn’t continue to see him, now that her thoughts were dominated by the tall, dark, handsome detective.

But did Thomas feel the same? There were times when she felt electricity between them, but it’s not like he acted on it. Perhaps he was still mourning the loss of his wife.

Or maybe he’s just like that around all women? The idea dashed her spirits. Could she really be that wrong about him?

Meagan pulled on a pair of sweatpants. No, surely he had feelings for her too. She’d bet on it. She reached into her dresser, pulled out a t-shirt, and slipped it over her head.

 Meagan was standing in the bathroom in front of the mirror, combing out her wet hair, when she heard a knock on the front door. Maybe it’s him! Her heart fluttered.

She raced to the door and snuck a glimpse through the peephole. Her heart sank; it wasn’t the detective. Still her curiosity was piqued. She flung the door open. “My God, I haven’t seen you in years!” She found herself looking into the face of her ex-fiancé.

“Oh Meggie, can I come in?” he asked through his tears.

“Of course. What’s wrong?” She stepped aside.

He said nothing as he entered. Meagan shut the door and wrapped him in a warm hug. He grabbed her, tight, and sobbed on her shoulder. She’d never seen him so distraught. They stood like that a few minutes while she let him get it out of his system.

Finally, she pulled out of his grasp, looked him in the eyes. “What’s happened?”

He brushed the tears from his cheeks before answering her.

“My wife is dead.”

“What? That’s horrible! Come here and have a seat. Can I get you anything?" She walked him over to the couch.

“I could use a drink. Do you have anything stronger than soda?”

“Sure. I’ll be right back.” Meagan hurried to the kitchen, poured a shot of whiskey and rushed back in to hand it to him.

He downed the shot and put the glass down. After a few minutes, he seemed to have calmed down enough for her to talk.

“I didn’t even know you were married.”

“I met her not long after we split. I guess you could call it a rebound kind of thing. The night we met I went back with her to her apartment and never left. One weekend we went to Vegas, I was drunk, she persuaded me to get married in one of those cheesy little chapels. It was the second dumbest thing I’ve ever done. The first was losing you.”

He turned and looked at her. “I love you, Meagan. I always have and always will. I just didn’t know what a good thing I had in you. I was stupid and thoughtless, I’m sorry.” He placed his hand on her knee.

Suddenly uncomfortable, she jumped up, walked to the middle of the room before she turned back around and stared at him.

“Meagan, I want to come back. I know it could work this time. I’ve had the same job for years now, I make good money. I want to buy you a house. You could stay home and have all the kids you want. I’ve been saving, I have fifty thousand dollars and it’s all for you!” He leapt from the couch, knelt at her feet, and clasped her hands in his.

“Meagan Laurel McInnis, would you do me the honor of letting me love, honor and cherish you for the rest of our lives?”

She pulled her hands away, stunned. “You’re distraught. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

He stood up, took her hands again, and gazed into her eyes.

“No. I’m
not
. I never loved her, she was a whore.” He shook his head and smiled. Then he spoke to her like she was a child. “You misunderstood. Those were not tears of pain, but tears of joy.”

Meagan pulled her hands free and stepped back. A chill coursed through her body. Her memory replayed all the times he had accused
her
of cheating on him. Every time he’d answered the phone and the person hung up, he would say it was her boyfriend. If she came home late, he would grill her about her whereabouts. Now he was calling his recently deceased wife a whore. She didn’t know what to think.

“Actually, I’m seeing someone,” she blurted out.

“If you mean that singer, he’s been arrested for murder. I don’t think you’ll be able to carry on a decent relationship from a jail cell.”

“How, what—” Icy fingers played along her spine, and she inched her way backwards all the while keeping her eyes on his.

He closed the gap between them. “Or were you talking about that detective?”

“Jay, how did your wife die?” Her voice shook.

“Dear, sweet, Meggie.” He reached his hand out to stroke her hair.

She jerked away, stared into his black soulless eyes.

“The
Sandman
got her.” The grin that spread across his face was pure evil. She didn’t know this man at all.

Meagan’s heartbeat quickened, her body trembled. Her mind began swimming with flashbacks: Jay flirting obscenely with Lilah at the Fourth of July party; the disgusting magazines she’d found under the bed six months after she’d thrown him out; the time he’d asked her to beat him during sex, then recanted saying he was only kidding. Maybe she never really knew this man at all.

Without much thought, she kneed him in the groin. When he doubled over, she raced for the back door.

“You bitch! You’re going to pay for that!”

She got the lock undone and was just turning the knob when she felt him grab her by the hair and yank. She screamed as her neck snapped back, a jolt of pain whipped through her body.

“I should have
known
you’d be like all the rest. All those years of loving you, working
hard
for you, and this is the thanks I get!” Jay dragged her backward.

Meagan tried to keep up with him before he pulled her hair out by the roots. Finally she found her footing, whipped her elbow around and connected with his eye.

He let go and screamed, “You cunt!”

She fled to the bedroom and slammed the door. Holding it closed with her body, she searched the room. Her eyes locked on the chair in the corner. She dragged it over and lodged it up underneath the doorknob tightly to secure it. He pounded on the door, screamed obscenities. She prayed her neighbors had called the cops.

Unexpectedly she heard a loud thud. The door shuddered. Jay was trying to kick it in. She watched in horror as the top hinges started to give way. Frantically she searched the room for a weapon, and found the mallet. She plopped down into the chair. The next time he rammed the door, it barely budged.

Suddenly the phone rang and all went quiet. He’d stopped trying to gain entrance to the room. Meagan looked back at the door, then at the phone. Her mind was buzzing. What do I do? What do I do? Finally she leapt from the chair and raced toward the phone. Just then a loud crash startled her, she turned. The door had collapsed on top of the chair and he climbed over it toward her. She picked up the phone in mid-ring and screamed “Help!” Then felt a sharp pain on the back of her head.

Everything went dark.

FORTY-TWO

“I already told you, I don’t know
anything. I just met the woman!” Jackson yelled.

“So you just wanted a little piece of ass while you were in town, then you moved on?” Thomas was bent over the table, resting on his hands. The muscles of his arms were tight, his jaw set, his face mere inches from Jackson.

“Look, she’s a tasty morsel, but she wouldn’t put out. I called her a couple of times to see if she’d changed her mind, but when I found out all the shit happening to her I bailed. Hell, who wouldn’t? I mean, that’s some crazy shit, man, you know? No chick is worth it.” Jackson shook his head.

Thomas threw Jackson up against the wall and placed his arm across his throat. “You want us to believe that you took no for an answer, that was just fine with you? You didn’t take any of these women and hold them somewhere, maybe to teach them a lesson?” Thomas said through clenched teeth. “Because women don’t say no to you, do they, stud?”

“I want my lawyer,” Jackson eked out.

“Thomas.” Shadowhawk had her hand on his shoulder.

The phone on the wall rang. He ignored it.

His partner picked it up. “Yeah, okay.” She whispered into Thomas’ ear, “Harris wants to talk to us.” Then she started toward the door and stood waiting for Thomas. Finally he let the jerk go and left the room.

Captain Harris was waiting for them in the viewing room.

“Doesn’t look like you guys are doing so good.” Harris had his arms crossed over his chest.

“He’s just playing us. He was in every city when the girls went missing. Women are just playthings to him. Just look at his history, for Christ’s sake.”

“Thomas, that’s just circumstantial evidence. You have nothing that will hold up in court. You don’t have a witness, you don’t have a fingerprint, and you don’t have anything that puts this guy at any of the crime scenes. The sheriff’s department up in Humboldt recovered nothing of significance from his house.

“The only thing you have on this creep is that he’s a cocky son of a bitch. If that were a crime, we’d have to lock up half the men in Orange County. Admit it, you’re shooting blanks. The sooner you realize it, the sooner you can go out and get some solid evidence.

Harris continued. “If you and Shadowhawk know in your gut that this is the guy, then let him go and put a tail on his ass. He’ll incriminate himself, trust me. What do you think Shadowhawk. Is this the guy?” The captain turned his attention to her.

“Everything does point to him, but there’s just one thing niggling at me. We can’t put him with that first victim,” she answered.

“Let’s swab the guy. We check the blood type and find out whether or not he’s a secretor. If we have a match, we nail the son of a bitch. We don’t have to wait for DNA,” Thomas quickly interjected.

“You guys have been interrogating this bozo for hours. Now he’s lawyered up. No lawyer worth his salt will let you swab his client. Besides, we can’t hold him on blood type alone, and we can’t wait until the DNA tests come back. I think it’s time to call it quits, guys.” Harris left the room.

Shadowhawk turned to Thomas. “Maybe he’s right. We cut the guy loose, tail him, maybe even catch him in the act. What do you say?” She patted him on the back and followed the captain out.

He stood there staring at Jackson. It had to be him, he thought. Thomas didn’t believe in coincidences.

The door opened and Cooper walked in. “How’s it going with that scumbag?”

“What the
hell
are you doing here?” Thomas yelled.

“What do you mean? I was told to take Meagan home and return to the station. They said you caught the guy. That’s him, isn’t it?” Cooper hooked his thumb at the suspect.

“Who gave you those orders? I’m the one running this damn investigation!” Thomas slammed his fist down on the desk.

“I don’t know. Some guy from dispatch called. He told me you were busy interrogating the suspect.” Cooper hitched up his belt.

“I never gave that order. What the hell is going on around here?” Thomas flew out of the room toward the nearest desk and picked up the phone. “Shit!” He slammed it back down, got out his notebook and started skimming the pages. He found Meagan’s number, then picked the phone up again and dialed.

It rang four times. “Come on, come on, come on. Pick up the goddamned phone!” Finally someone picked up, but before he could say anything, he heard Meagan scream for help. Then the line went dead. Cooper was standing next to him.

“Get some cruisers over to Meagan’s house, and tell Shadowhawk to meet me there immediately!” Thomas raced toward the door.

Once in the car, he took out his cell phone and dialed Meagan’s number again. This time the phone just kept ringing. His mind was reeling. If the Sandman had her, would she still be alive?

His car sped down the highway weaving in and out of traffic. He was passing San Juan Capistrano when his cell phone rang. He answered, “Talk to me.”

“Detective, this is Kowalski. I’m at the residence, sir. There’s no one here and no sign of a break-in, but there are signs of a struggle. What do you want us to do?”

Thomas’ heart sank.

“Start canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses. I’m almost there.” Thomas hung up.

When he pulled in front of the house, the scene was all too familiar. There were black-and-whites all around her driveway, their lights flashing. He jumped from the car and raced toward the house, but when he walked in, he found he was alone.

He found the signs of the struggle in the bedroom. The door was caved in, and a chair was toppled on its side. The phone was ripped out of the wall. On the floor lay a broken lamp, and beside it, a puddle of blood.

Someone came up behind him, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the blood, Meagan’s blood. That crazy motherfucker had her.

“The CSU should be here soon.”

Thomas turned around. The officer’s name tag said Darby.